It's a scene worthy of discussion. It certainly implies that Billy stated what Dix wanted, and then paid him off. Simple as that.
The implication for the character, however, is a bit more significant. Does it make him a coward? I would think not, given what we see him do in the bank earlier. I tend to believe it shows us that Billy is rebelling against a certain societal structure or system, which the sheriff represents. And yes, although Billy has chosen to largely live outside of that corrupt world, he is powerless to control it and must make peace with that fact to a certain degree, as we've seen with other Eastwood characters (it's likely something Eastwood himself realizes). So, in order to accomplish something good (getting Sam Bottoms out of jail), he deals a bit with the devil.
I'm sure there's plenty more to read into it, but this is what jumped out at me.
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